Ukraine: SME representatives note improvement of business climate in 2016

Representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) have noted the improvement of the business climate in Ukraine: the corresponding index in 2016 rose to plus 0.06 from plus 0.01 in 2015 (on a scale from minus 1 to plus 1), according to the results of the “Annual assessment of the business climate 2016.”

“The index has improved by 5%. This is not much but nevertheless it is a positive trend,” the coordinator of the analytical component of the USAID LEV program, the executive director of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting Oksana Kuziakiv said.

According to the results of the survey, low demand became the main obstacle to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises in 2016. It ousted the “unfavorable political situation,” which was the main obstacle in 2015, to the second place.

The optimism of small and medium-sized enterprises regarding the short-term plans has grown, while its growth rate relative to the two-year plans has slightly decreased. This suggests that there is no time for “postponing” the reforms, the expert explained. (Interfax-Ukraine/Business World Magazine)